Upcoming Events

African American Read-In 2019

More information coming soon! Theme: AfrofuturismWant to be a part of the action? Penn State Altoona students can enroll in the AARI course for fall 2018!

African AmericanRead-In 2018

Took place on February 11 & 12, 2018

African Diaspora Writers in the U.S.

The “African Diaspora,” in its broadest definition, refers to the scattering, throughout history and across the world, of people of African descent. This year’s African American Read-In course at Penn State Altoona, taught by Liberian American poet and scholar Dr. Patricia Jabbeh Wesley, however, focuses more specifically on contemporary African authors living and writing in the United States. Working in the context of the African literary tradition and employing African motifs, they have introduced different voices and dialogues into the larger American experience in their poetry, fiction, memoirs, and dramatic texts. Being African and American at the same time, these writers have a stake in the wellbeing of their homelands, and their hearts continue to be connected to Africa. Our goal is to explore and celebrate their important contributions to the American literary landscape, in a country where a growing percentage of the Black population is made up of immigrants. At this historical moment, experiences of migration, forcible displacement, and exile are shaping the lives of so many worldwide. Participants may choose to read from the works of any African Diaspora author within our theme, or, as always, any African American, African, or Caribbean author writing in the U.S.